Sorting system for sorting luggage into bags

Abstract

A sorting conveyor and bagging device for selectively depositing loads into bags through collapsible openings in the bags themselves or in sleeves projecting from the mouths of the bags. A slider is positioned between the bags at the end of a chute. An actuator slides the slider along a slide track to selectively position the opening to one bag open to receive the load from the chute and the opening to the other bag closed and spaced apart.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention generally relates to a power-driven conveyor, and more particularly to a sorting conveyor that sorts packages into a plurality of bags with multiple discharges.

Background Art

[0002] In various industries such as the handling of packages and parcels, sorting conveyors are used to sort packages to assigned destinations such as bags. Often, packages are discharged from a main sorting conveyor onto a chute that leads to an assigned destination bag. When many sorting destinations are required, the main sorting conveyor becomes long and can occupy a significant floor area.

Summary of the Invention

[0003] One version of a bagging apparatus embodying the features of the present invention includes a pair of slide tracks and a slider that is movable along the slide tracks and attachable to two bags. An actuator slides the slider along the slide tracks in a first direction that opens the opening to the first of the bags and closes the opening to the second of the bags, and in an opposite second direction that opens the opening to the second of the bags and closes the opening to the first of the bags.

[0004] One version of a sorting system embodying the features of the present invention includes first and second destination bags and a bagging apparatus. The bagging apparatus includes first and second slide tracks and a slider that is movable along the first and second slide tracks and attachable to the first and second destination bags. An actuator coupled to the slider slides the slider along the first and second slide tracks in a first direction that opens the opening to the first destination bag and closes the opening to the second destination bag, and in an opposite second direction that opens the opening to the second destination bag and closes the opening to the first destination bag.

Brief Description of the Drawings

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DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0006] Part of a sorting system for implementing the features of the present invention is shown in FIG. 1. The sorting system includes a main sorting conveyor 10, which may be implemented as a powered roller conveyor, a shute sorter, or a conveyor belt that advances packages in the main conveying direction 12. The selected package P is sorted from the main sorting conveyor 10 onto the chute 14 in the direction of arrow 13 by a conventional direction-changing mechanism suitable for use with the type of sorting conveyor being used. Examples of conventional direction-changing mechanisms include chutes, pushers, cross belts, swing sorters, and activated roller belts such as the INTRALOX® Series 7000 Activated Roller Belt manufactured and sold by Intralox, L.L.C. of Harahan, Louisiana, USA.

[0007] The package P with the destination assigned to either of the bags B1, B2 is sorted from the main conveyor 10 onto the chute 14. Packages assigned to other destinations along the main sorting conveyor 10 are sorted onto the chute at their sorting positions and into the assigned bags.

[0008] As also shown in FIGS. 2A and 2B, the bags B1, B2 each have a mouth portion 16 bounded by a lip portion 18. The lip portion 18 has two opposing flat surfaces 20, 21 joined by two pleated sides 22, 23 that enable the bag to be foldable. The bags B1, B2 are suspended in a bagging apparatus from a pair of slide tracks in the form of rails, namely, tooth-like portions 24, 25. Small holes 26, 27 in the flat surfaces 20, 21 of the bag lip portion 18 slidably receive the tooth-like portions 24, 25. The tooth-like portions 24, 25 are supported parallel in a horizontal plane by legs 28 rising from the floor.

[0009] The slider 30 in the bag-packing device is slidably mounted on the tooth-shaped portions 24, 25 between the lip portions 18 of the two bags B1, B2. In particular, the slider 30 is mounted between the flat surface 21 of the first bag B1 and the flat surface 20 of the second bag B2. The slider 30 is attached to the arm 32 of an actuator 34, such as a linear actuator, which is attached at one end on the bottom side of the chute 14. The slider 30 is also attached to the bags B1, B2. The actuator 34 moves the slider 30 along the tooth-shaped portions 24, 25 in a first direction to a first position shown in FIG. 2A where the mouth 16 of the first bag B1 is open to form an opening into the first bag and the mouth of the second bag B2 is closed, and in an opposite second direction to a second position shown in FIG. 2B where the mouth of the second bag is open to form an opening into the second bag and the mouth of the first bag is closed. In FIG. 2A, the package P assigned to the destination bag B1 descends through the chute 14 and enters the open bag B1. In FIG. 2B, the package P' assigned to the destination bag B2 descends through the chute 14 and enters the open bag B2.

[0010] In the first position, the slider 30 and the first flat surface 21 of the first bag B1 are positioned directly below the lower end 36 of the chute 14. In the second position, the slider 30 and the flat surface 20 of the lip portion of the second bag B2 are positioned outside the lower end 36 of the chute 14. In either position, the other flat surface 20 of the first bag B1 and the other flat surface 21 of the second bag B2 remain in position on the tooth-shaped portions 24, 25. In this way, the actuator 34 acting on the slider 30 opens one bag while closing the other and positions the open mouth of the bag to receive the package emerging from the chute 14.

[0011] Figures 3A-3E show the sequence of removing the bag from the tooth-shaped part. As shown in Figure 3A, the bag B1 to be removed is first detached from the slider 30. The connection may be formed by the hook 38 on the lip portion 18 of the bag extending through the hole 40 in the slider 30, although other connections such as a snap on the slider and a mating snap on the lip portion 18 of the bag may also be used. (Figure 3A also shows the detent 42, which is a recess in the tooth-shaped part that functions as a holding part that loosely holds the flat surface 20 outside the lip portion 18 of the first bag B1 in place). In Figure 3B, the tooth-shaped parts 24, 25 are pulled out from the legs 28 at the outer ends of the bag support assembly. As shown in Figure 4, the upper end 44 of each leg 28 has a narrow-diameter stub 46 having a ball lock pin 48 that is received at the hollow ends of the tooth-shaped parts 24, 25. With the legs 28 supported by the tooth-shaped parts 24, 25, the bag B1 is slid outward until its end passes along the tooth-shaped part as shown in Figure 3C. When separated from the tooth-shaped parts 24, 25, the bag B1 can be carried out as shown in Figure 3D. The removal of the second bag B2 is similarly accomplished as shown in Figure 3E. To replace the bag, this process is reversed.

[0012] As shown in FIG. 6, the sorting conveyor is controlled by a controller 54, such as a programmable logic controller or other processor or programmable computer. The controller executes program steps in its program memory and receives package identification data from a scanner 56 that scans all packages. From that data, the controller 54 assigns each package to a destination bag. A position sensor 58 along the main sorting conveyor provides position information to the controller 54 that enables each package to be tracked. From weight signals transmitted to the controller 54 by load sensors 50 in the shoots, the controller detects packages delivered to a bag, verifies proper delivery, reports mis-sorts (packages sorted to the wrong destination bag), reports undelivered packages, and reports full bags. The controller 54 notifies the operator of those operating problems on a monitor 62 or using indicator lighting or an audible alarm or other alert. The controller 54 also controls a motor 60 that drives the slider actuators 34 in the main conveyor and each shoot.

[0013] It is possible for a package to be sorted to the wrong destination bag. FIG. 5 shows a load sensor 50 mounted on a plate 52 that is slidably attached to a toothed portion 24 at its upper end. The other end of the plate 52 is fixed. When a package lands in an open bag B1, the toothed portion 24 flexes downward to contact the load sensor 50, which then reports the increased weight of the bag B1, indicating the receipt of a package in one of the bags. The load sensor 50 reports the weight to the sorting conveyor controller, which interprets the weight increase as the detection of a package. Then, using knowledge of the assigned destination of the package, the state of the sliders in each shoot, and the position of each assigned bag, the controller can determine whether the package has been mis-sorted. The load sensors may be attached to each toothed portion or to only one.

[0014] The program steps in the program memory executed by the controller to detect and report mis-sorted packages are shown in Figure 7. A weight signal from a load sensor that continuously monitors the bag is used by the controller to detect the receipt of a package in the bag. When a package is detected, the controller then determines whether the package has been mis-sorted, i.e., delivered to the wrong bag, as explained in the previous paragraph. If it is determined that the package has been delivered to the wrong destination bag, the controller notifies the operator of the bag containing the mis-sorted package by indicator lighting, a message or display on the display, an alarm, or other alert. Otherwise, the controller verifies the delivery of the package to the appropriate destination bag and accumulates the weight of the bag. In either case, the controller then determines whether the accumulated weight of the bag exceeds the maximum weight value. If so, the controller notifies the operator that the bag is full so that it can be replaced with an empty bag, and the controller then resets the accumulated weight to zero for the replacement bag. If a package was predicted to be delivered but was not detected by the load sensor in the predicted destination bag, the controller notifies the operator that the package was not delivered. If a package was not detected and not delivered and nothing was predicted, the controller does not send an alert.

[0015] Another version of the bagging device is shown in FIG. 8. The bagging device 140 differs from the bagging device of FIG. 1 in that an electric rack and pinion actuator is used instead of a linear actuator. The rack and pinion actuator includes a rack gear 142 attached to a slider 144 at one end. A pinion gear 146 on the shaft of the motor 148 engages the rack gear 142. Rotation of the motor shaft and the pinion gear 146 translates the rack gear 142 and the slider 144 along its slide track 150 to open and close the openings to the bags B1, B2. A similar electric rack and pinion actuator may be attached to the other side of the slider 144. The motor 148 is supported, for example, by a motor mount 149 suspended from the chute 14.

[0016] Alternative means for removably attaching the bag B to the slider 152 are shown in FIGS. 9 and 10. In FIG. 9, spring gates 154 that are laterally spaced apart on both sides of the slider 152 are used instead of the hooks shown in FIG. 3A to attach the lip portion 156 of the bag to the slider. The spring gates 154 have a lower pivot end 158 and an upper free end 159 that are biased relative to the slider 152 by springs. The gate 154 extends through a small hole in the lip portion 156 of the bag. The spring gates 154 open easily under a slight outward pressure for bag installation and removal. Instead of the spring gates, a spring latch 160 that passes through a small hole in the bag is used in FIG. 10 to removably attach the bag B to the slider 152. A hook 162 that depends on the spring latch 160 catches the small hole in the bag B to hold the bag.

[0017] FIG. 11 shows a bagging device 164 having a wheeled platform 166 that allows the resulting bag cart to rotate for easy bag insertion and removal. The platform 166 has caster wheels 168 at each corner.

[0018] As shown in FIG. 12, a lock bar 170 with an actuator 172 attached to both ends is positioned above the slider 152. The bolt 174 has an unthreaded shank between the threaded end opposite the bolt head. The bolt 174 extends through an unthreaded through-hole in the upper center of the lock bar 170 and is threaded into a threaded hole in the upper center of the slider 152. In this way, the slider 152, the bolt 174, and the bags B1, B2 can be rotated relative to the lock bar 170 on the caster wheel 168 as shown in FIG. 11 for easy bag replacement.

[0019] The lock pin 176 extends through a hole in the lock bar 170 and into aligned holes in the upper part of the slider 152 to prevent rotation of the slider relative to the lock bar during normal operation of the bagging device. When the bag B needs to be replaced, the operator lifts the lock pin 176 from the locked position shown in FIG. 13A to the unlocked position shown in FIG. 13B by its handle 178. A spring 180 wound around the pull rod portion of the lock pin 176 between a spring seat portion 182 formed on the bottom surface of a U-shaped pin support portion 184 fixed to the upper part of the lock bar 170 and a spring retaining portion stub 186 biases the lock pin to its locked position in FIG. 13A. To unlock the slider 152 from the lock bar 170, the operator pulls the handle 178 upward against the spring pressure to lift the end of the lock pin 176 out of the hole in the slider, thereby allowing the bagging device to be rotated for access to the bag.

[0020] Instead of a rotatable bagging device having caster wheels as in FIG. 11, the bagging device 190 of FIG. 14 is wheel-less. Its legs 192 are attached to a lower platform 194 having a pivot pin 196 that extends downward from its bottom side at the center. The pivot pin 196 is received in a bearing block 198 attached to the floor. The bearing block 198 supports the bagging device 190 and enables the device to be rotated for bag replacement.

[0021] Another version of the bagging device 200 is shown in FIG. 16. One difference from the bagging device described above is that sleeves S1, S2 are inserted between the chute 14 and the bags B1, B2. The upper lip portions 202 of the sleeves are attached to a slider 204 and through small holes 208 to a slide track 206. The sleeves S1, S2 extend downward from their lip portions 202 to the mouths of the bags B1, B2. The mouths of the bags B1, B2 may remain permanently open, while the mouths 210 of the sleeves S1, S2 function as foldable openings to the bags.

[0022] As shown in FIG. 17, the slider 204 is attached to the actuator 212, which moves the upper lip portions 202 of the slider and the sleeves S1, S2 along two rod-shaped rails 214 that form a slide track. The rails 214 are attached at their ends to rail supports 216 mounted on the bottom of the chute 14. The rails 214 are also supported by their attachment portions to the slider 204 and the actuator 212. Sleeve stops 218, which take the form of pairs of rings spaced along the length of the rail 212, define the translation range of the sleeves S1, S2 along the rail between each pair. Also, the outer lip portions of the sleeves S1, S2 are held between the stops 218 of each pair of rings that function as sleeve retainers. A ring magnet 220 around the small hole 222 in the slider 204 attracts an iron metal ring 224 around the small hole at the lip portion 202 of the sleeve, holding the sleeves S1, S2 to the slider. When the slider 204 is moved back and forth on the slide track 214, one sleeve is opened and the other is closed, whereby the luggage dropped into the opened sleeve is inserted into the associated bag.

[0023] The bags B1, B2 are supported at a bag stand 226 as shown in FIG. 18. The bag stand 226 has four legs 228 each having a hook 230 at the top. The bags B1, B2 are suspended on their outer sides from hooks 230 received in small holes 232 at the lip portions 234 of the bags. A central bag support stand 236 has legs 238 mounted on a lower platform 240. The bag support stand 236 has hooks 242 on each face through which the inner lip portions of the bags B1, B2 are hooked through small holes. Casters 244 may be attached to the bottom of the platform 240 to enable the bag stand to be easily moved.

[0024] Another version of the bagging device for loading luggage into a bag is shown in Fig. 19A. This bagging device includes a bag support assembly 74 and a cart 70 composed of a tubular member. The cart 70 has caster wheels 72 that contact the floor at the bottom. At the upper end of the cart 70, there is a bag support assembly 74 that supports two bags B1 and B2 on opposite sides of a slider 76. The bag support assembly 74 includes a slider 76, a coil spring 78 attached at one end to a support post 80 at the upper part of the cart 70 and at the other end to the outer surface of a lip portion 82 that covers the upper parts of the bags B1 and B2, and a slide actuator assembly 84 that selectively moves the slider to open and close the bag.

[0025] Figs. 19A - 19C show the sequence of loading a first piece of luggage P into a first bag B1 and then a second piece of luggage P' into a second bag B2. In Fig. 19A, the slider 76 closes the second bag B2 and opens the mouth of the first bag B1 such that the inner surface 86 of the lip portion 82 of the first bag is below the lower end 88 of a chute 90 to receive the luggage P, shown at a first position at the end of the translation range of the slider. Fig. 19B shows the slider 76 at a transition position when sliding to a second position to close the first bag B1 and open the second bag B2 to receive the luggage P' from the chute 90 as shown in Fig. 19C. A coil spring 78 attached to the support post 80 at one end is attached at the other end to the outer surface of the lip portions 82 of the bags B1 and B2 through small holes 92 in the lip portions by hooks 98. The spring 78 applies a force that biases the outer surfaces of the bags B1 and B2 away from the slider 76, which helps to keep the bags open during the loading of the luggage. Hooks 94 on the cart 70 engage rings 96 attached to the surfaces of the bags B1 and B2 to provide the main support for the bags.

[0026] Details of the slider 76 and the slide actuator assembly 84 are shown in FIG. 20. The slider 76 is a plate and has a pair of hooks 98 for hooking into the small holes of the bag on each face of the plate, whereby the inner lip portion of the bag moves together with the slider plate. The upper and lower stubs 100, 102 project laterally outward from the opposite side faces of the slider 76. The T-shaped guides 104, 106 attach the slider 76 with brackets. The crossbar 105 of the guides 104, 106 has a horizontal slot 108 in which the upper stub 100 is received. The horizontal slot 100 in the crossbar 105 forms a slide track that defines the translation range of the upper end of the slider plate 76. The struts 110 of the T-shaped guides 104, 106 have vertical slots 112 for receiving the lower stub 102 of the slider 76, giving the slider freedom of tilting movement as the plate translates along the horizontal slot 108. The linear actuator 114 has an extension arm 116 attached to the upper stub 100 by a coupling 118.

[0027] As shown in FIG. 19C, the actuator 114 is attached to the cart 70 by a retaining ring 120 at the top of an upright tubular member 122 that bends outward. In FIG. 19A, the arm 116 of the actuator is shown extended to open the mouth of the first bag B1 and close the mouth of the second bag B2. In FIG. 19C, the arm 116 of the actuator is shown retracted to open the second bag B2 and close the first bag B1. As seen in FIGS. 19B and 20, retaining rings 124, 126 on the outer side faces of the T-shaped guide 104 attached to the horizontal member 128 of the cart 70 hold the guide in place.

[0028] Figures 21A - 21C show how the bags B1, B2 are taken out from the cart 70. First, the coil spring 78 is disengaged from the small hole 92 in the lip portion 82 of the bag. Next, the end gates 130, 132, which are hinged to the side frame of the cart, are swung open as shown in Figure 21A. Next, as shown in Figure 21B, the first bag B1, which is outside the chute 90, is disengaged from the slider plate 76 and taken out through the open gateway at the end of the cart 70. As shown in Figure 21C, the cart 70 is then rotated 180° or as much as necessary to access the second bag B2 and take out the bag through the other open end. The replacement bag is installed in the cart by performing the removal steps in reverse order.

[0029] The present invention has been described with respect to several exemplary versions, but other versions are possible. For example, the actuator in any version can be implemented as a linear actuator such as a pneumatic, hydraulic, or electromagnetic actuator, as a rack and pinion actuator, or by any other equivalent device capable of translating a slider along a slide track. As another example, various bagging devices can attach the bag or sleeve to the slide by means of a hook, a spring gate, a spring latch, a magnetic attraction, or any accessory that facilitates bag replacement. Also, the term "package" is intended to generally refer to any transportable object such as, for example, an envelope, a carton, a box, and a parcel. Also, other features shown in some of the bagging devices can be used in other bagging devices. Therefore, as these few examples suggest, the claims are not intended to be limited to the specifically disclosed exemplary versions.

Claims

1. A bagging device, A pair of slide tracks, A slider that is movable along the slide track and attachable to two bags, An actuator, wherein the actuator is coupled to the slider and opens an opening to a first one of the bags and closes an opening to a second one of the bags, and a first direction; and opens an opening to the second one of the bags and closes the opening to the first one of the bags, and an opposite second direction, and slides the slider along the slide track, an actuator, Including, The slide track extends through the slider and includes first and second rails adapted to extend through a lip portion of the bag, a bagging device.

2. The slider has a plurality of stubs protruding from both sides of the slider extending in the vertical direction, and the slide track includes first and second guides having slots for receiving the stubs, the bagging device according to claim 1.

3. Each of the first and second rails has first and second detents at positions spaced along the length of the rail for holding the side of the bag opposite the slider, the bagging device according to claim 1.

4. Including legs attached to each end of the first and second rails for supporting the first and second rails in parallel, the legs being removable for sliding a bag onto or off of the first and second rails, the bagging device according to claim 1.

5. The slider is attachable to the bag by a hook, a spring gate, a spring latch, or magnetic attraction, the bagging device according to claim 1.

6. Including a lock bar on the slider and a bolt extending through the lock bar and attached to the slider to allow the slider to rotate relative to the lock bar, the bagging device according to claim 1.

7. A locking pin, the locking pin being attachable to the locking bar and extendable into the slider to a locking position that prevents the slider from rotating relative to the locking bar, and retractable from the locking bar to an unlocking position that allows the slider to rotate relative to the locking bar, the bag-packing device according to claim 6, comprising the locking pin.

8. The bag-packing device according to claim 1, wherein the actuator is a linear actuator or an electric rack and pinion.

9. A sorting system for sorting articles, a first and a second destination bag each having an opening, a bag-packing device, a first and a second slide track including first and second rails, a slider movable along the first and second slide tracks, an actuator coupled to the slider and configured to slide the slider along the first and second slide tracks in a first direction to open the opening to the first destination bag and close the opening to the second destination bag, and in a second, opposite direction to open the opening to the second destination bag and close the opening to the first destination bag, the bag-packing device including the actuator, wherein the openings to the first and second destination bags have a lip portion surrounding the mouth, or the bag-packing device includes first and second sleeves forming the openings to the first and second destination bags, wherein the slider is attachable to the first and second destination bags or the first and second sleeves, wherein the first and second rails extend (a) through the slider and the lip portions of the first and second destination bags, or (b) through the slider and the first and second sleeves, the sorting system, wherein the actuator slides the slider along the first and second rails.

10. The sorting system according to claim 9, wherein the slider extends in a width direction from a first end to a second end and in a thickness direction from a first side adjacent to the first destination bag to a second side adjacent to the second destination bag, and the actuator includes first and second linear actuators having arms with distal ends attached to the second side of the slider at the first and second ends.

11. The first and second rails each have first and second holding portions at positions spaced along the lengths of the first and second rails, the first holding portion holding a part of the lip portion of the opening of the first destination bag on the surface of the lip portion on the side opposite to the slider, and the second holding portion holding a part of the lip portion of the opening of the second destination bag on the surface of the lip portion on the side opposite to the slider. The sorting system according to claim 9.

12. The sorting system according to claim 11, wherein each of the first and second holding portions is a stopper in the first or second rail or a pair of rings received in the first or second rail that holds the lip portion.

13. Including legs attached to each end of the first and second slide tracks to support the first and second slide tracks in parallel, the legs being removable to slide the first and second destination bags onto or off the first and second slide tracks. The sorting system according to claim 9.

14. The sorting system according to claim 9, including a chute that slopes downward from top to bottom and is positioned to drop the goods through the opening into the first and second destination bags.

15. The sorting system according to claim 9, including a load sensor mounted on the first or second slide track for detecting the loading of goods into the first or second destination bag.

16. Including a controller that assigns each item to one of the first and second destination bags and receives a signal from the load sensor indicating the delivery of the item to the first or second destination bag, the controller notifying the operator if the item is mis-sorted. The sorting system according to claim 15.

17. Receiving a signal from the load sensor indicating the weight of each item delivered to the first or second destination bag, accumulating the total weight of the first or second destination bag, comparing the accumulated weight with a maximum weight value, and if the accumulated weight exceeds the maximum weight value, notifying the operator that the destination bag is full. The sorting system according to claim 15, including a controller.

18. The sorting system according to claim 9, comprising a bag support stand that supports the first and second destination bags between the first destination bag and the second destination bag and below the slider.

19. The sorting system according to claim 9, wherein the bagging device is rotatable.

20. The sorting system according to claim 9, wherein the slider has a plurality of stubs protruding from both side surfaces of the slider extending in the vertical direction, and the first and second slide tracks include first and second guides having slots for receiving the stubs.

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